Women's basketball players and stilettos

The University of Oklahoma's Panhellenic council met last week and they had a guest appearance by the women's head basketball coach Sherri Coale.

Coale spoke at the meeting to inform the female members of panhellenic greek organizations about the importance of networking and building connections to make sure you have a job once you graduate college. The program she presented is called Sooner Stilettos.

This program is designed to help female students at OU gain access to job opportunities and mentors through shadowing other females who have the career they would like to pursue. Coale, herself, was a member of Sooner Stilettos, as well as some of her previous and current players. Coale says this is a "classy program for classy women." She explained female basketball players are just like regular girls and they are no different from anyone else.

Coale talked about her experience with Sooner Stilettos and how she was able to develop a very close relationship with her mentor, who before meeting Sherri, knew nothing about women's basketball. Coale said that before her mentor passed away, she attended every single home basketball game. Coale also talked about how many of the women who were members of Sooner Stilettos have gone on to open their own businesses and some have even become millionaires.

With membership into this program, you get opportunities to attend exclusive
events with the Sooner women's basketball team. You also get the chance to network with people you might not otherwise have even known. This program gave girls another perspective into the women's basketball team and especially Sherri Coale.

Taken By: Siobhan Weathers

Taken By: Siobhan Weathers

Ballet Instructor turns injuries in a career

Clara Stanley is an associate ballet professor at the University of Oklahoma who has danced all over the world and has had a total of 3 careers.

Everything she has done has been in the field of dance, she has just had to do something less strenuous on her body. She started her career in the Harkness Ballet in New York in the 60s. She toured all over the world and spent quite a bit of time in South America. During this time, she obtained severe injuries to her knees. Back then, there were no extensive treatment methods like the ones today. Stanley continued dancing, and the physical strain continued to wear on her knees.

Stanley reached a point where her knees pretty much became unusable. This lead her into career number 2. A friend invited her to head a ballet academy in Houston. Being a ballet instructor allows less strain on the body because it is more speaking than demonstrating. She was the principal there for 28 years.

She then decided to take some time for herself and eventually applied for the job at OU, career number 3. Her years of dancing and touring the world allowed her to meet many people and network. With the help of her connections, specifically Mary Margaret Holt, she received the job at OU as an associate professor of ballet. Holt is the head of the dance school at OU and also one of Stanley's dear friends from her dance years.

One of her students, Rose Reida, said how much she respects Stanley and how she is incredibly supportive and everything she says is for the good of the students. Stanley has trained dancers who are now professionals and she continues to do so at OU. She teaches the highest level of technique classes and prepares her students for the professional world of dance.

Women’s rowing team looks to strengthen fan base

The women’s rowing team may be a new addition to the University of Oklahoma but they hope to be a force to be reckoned  during this new season.

When you think of OU, you immediately think of football, not necessarily rowing. The recently added rowing team is trying to change that and build their fan base from the ground up. The varsity team started off the season with a first place finish defeating Stanford, Iowa, and Tulsa in their first race in Oklahoma City.

One thing that concerns some of the team members is the lack of a fan base. Having their home races in the city is a little bit of a setback because Norman residents typically do not like to drive to the city. Another problem is that the rowing team is so new and a lot of people don’t know that it exists. They may be a good team but gaining support poses a bit of a challenge for them.

Ashley Middaugh says “I think if [the races] were in Norman, more people would come just because it’s closer, more convenient and just something to do. But I think we would eventually get more fans over time.” As far as being under represented, Taylor Stephenson says “We truly are [under represented] and I just believe it’s because rowing is a new sport at OU.”

Katherine Mason says that part of the reason rowing is so under represented at OU is because it is located in the south. "It'smuch more main stream and competitive in the north and northeast so I'm actually glad OU has brought it to the athletic program because it is a great sport."

Both Middaugh and Stephenson are freshman first year team members. Mason is a senior first year team member.  Their next race will be in Boston, Massachusetts on October 21. They hope to keep their momentum going and come back to Norman with another win.